Film Review, The Women In Black

Here is something light hearted and not very relevant to my course. I went and watched the film 'The Women In Black' and fancied doing a film review. But don't worry I won't give away too much.

Admittedly I can’t watch this trailer on my own, so I don’t blame you if you can’t either.

The Women In Black is based on the 1983 novel By Susan Hill. When the film was released  I was convinced I had heard of title ' The Women in Black' before, I thought there was a theatre production. I remember there being some kind of school trip to see it but I had heard it was super creepy so I wimped out. The novel was adapted to a stage play in 1989. So there I was right!
The theatre production in the West End was the second longest play running. The film adaptation has taken a while but it has proven to be worth it.

Originally when I saw the trailer for this film I was interested, the boy we all know as Harry Potter was starring in it, Daniel Radcliffe. To my amusement a lady in the cinema shouted 'you're a wizard Harry.' I was interested to see if he could pull this off as all the 'Potter' fans would find it hard to let him go.

I knew this film would be popular; the screening was fully booked when I went on an orange Wednesday (241 of course!)

I think we all put our trust in the British actor Daniel Radcliffe. We all know him as a good actor, and we trust that he would choose to star in a film with a good story and production team. And to much of my predictions this was very true.

The film is a horror and I do warn you it is very creepy and jumpy. I was shocked that this film is rated 12a. I remember seeing 'The others' and 'Signs' at the age of 12 and I thought that they were scary. But this is much scarier! I wouldn't recommend anyone under the age of 12 seeing it. That's for sure.

Typically it meets the conventions of a Horror. It is filled with suspense and there is the 'usual evil haunting character' (the women in black) I don't want to give away too much, the storyline is based on young children that have died. I don't know about you but as soon as children are in the storyline of a horror I am instantly disturbed. The main themes are loss, mourning and death.

We are immediately whisked into Edwardian London and introduced to Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), a solicitor beset by tragedy. Under financial strain Arthur is sent on a journey away from his son, not only to finalise the sale of Eal Marsh house in a remote town, but to the dark side.

The focus is around a haunted house but the story is more depth that the usual cliché horror story. The magic of story is when it is unveiled who the Women in Black is. The producer James Watkins creates a dark gothic atmosphere throughout. I was left with sweaty palms, nice. The audio definitely hinders the paranormal effect successfully.

I think this film is a good example of a classic British horror film.

And remember don't let the 12A certificate fool you!